The present invention relates generally to a ball glove for baseball, softball and other sports. In particular, the present invention relates to a ball glove having at least one resilient panel positioned at a hand-receiving opening of the ball glove for expendably receiving a user""s hand and for generally conforming to the wrist of the user.
Ball gloves for use in baseball, softball and other sports are well known. Ball gloves typically include a front panel connected to a corresponding back panel to form a hand cavity. The front and back panels typically generally resemble the shape of a human hand and when assembled form five stalls for receiving the thumb and fingers of a user""s hand. A webbing is typically connected between the thumb stall and the index finger stall of the ball glove. Ball gloves also typically include a hand opening for enabling a user to insert his or her hand into the hand cavity of the ball glove. The size of the hand opening of ball gloves is often fixed.
Ball gloves with hand-openings of a fixed size have a drawback of often being loose on the user""s wrist. As a result, such ball gloves are easily mis-positioned on the user""s hand and are susceptible to falling off the user""s hand, particularly young users. Many ball gloves include fastening mechanisms for tightening or reducing the size of the hand opening around the user""s wrist after the user""s hand is inserted into the glove. The fastening mechanisms typically take the form of at least one strap, which is secured to the glove at one end and is releasably secured to the glove at a second end with a releasable fastener. The releasable fasteners can include buttons, snap-fit connectors, buckles, or hook and loop type fasteners. Other ball gloves include two overlapping strap members connected to a dial operated adjusting mechanism for manually reducing or enlarging the size of the hand opening.
Although these fastening mechanisms can effectively close or tighten the hand opening about the user""s wrist and subsequently release or enlarge the hand opening to allow the user to remove his or her hand from the glove, these mechanisms also have a number of drawbacks. These fastening mechanisms require manual operation to tighten or enlarge the hand opening to accommodate the user""s hand during use. These manual actions must be repeatedly performed by the user during play and, especially, during ball games and practice sessions. Many of these fastening mechanisms, such as hook and loop type connectors, have a finite useful life that often is less than the useful life of the ball glove. Also, effective operation of these fastening mechanisms generally requires that the user possess a fair amount of dexterity, hand strength and motor skills. Not surprisingly, many younger users simply are unable to effectively manipulate such fastening mechanisms. As a result, it is not uncommon for a parent, a coach or another adult to assist a younger user with putting on, removing or adjusting the young user""s glove. Moreover, these fastening mechanisms often require readjustment during use. This repeated manipulation and readjustment of the fastening mechanism can be considered a nuisance and a distraction to the user. Further, many of these fastening mechanisms are rather bulky and can provide the glove with an unattractive appearance.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a ball glove having a hand opening that readily expands and contracts to enable the user""s hand to enter the hand cavity of the ball glove and to generally conform to the size of the user""s wrist. What is needed is a ball glove that automatically adjusts to the size of the user""s hand and wrist without requiring one or more separate, secondary manual adjustments. It would be advantageous to provide a ball glove that is easy to put on and take off, and that readily adapts to the size of the user""s wrist thereby substantially eliminating or significantly reducing the need for subsequent adjustments of the glove. What is also needed is a ball glove that enables a younger user to put on and take-off without assistance. It would also be advantageous to provide a ball glove that provides these advantages and also provides the ball glove with an improved, more appealing aesthetic.
The present invention provides a ball glove for receiving a hand, and generally conforming to the wrist, of a user. The ball glove includes a front portion, a back portion, at least one notch, and at least one elastic strip. The front portion has a front lower edge. The back portion is coupled to the front portion to form a hand cavity. The back portion has a back lower edge, an inner surface and an outer surface. The front and back portions are separated along the front and back lower edges to define a hand opening. The notch is formed into the back portion from the back lower edge and extends through the inner and outer surfaces of the back portion. The elastic strip includes first and second ends. The strip extends across the notch generally parallel with the back lower edge. The strip at least partially covers the notch. The first and second ends of the strip are fixedly secured to the back portion. The at least one elastic strip enables the hand opening to resiliently expand to receive the hand of the user and then contract to generally conform to the wrist of the user.
According to a principal aspect of a preferred form of the invention, a ball glove for receiving a hand, and generally conforming to the wrist, of a user includes a front portion, a back portion, and at least one elastic panel. The front and back portions have front and back lower peripheral regions, respectively. The front lower peripheral region has first and second front connection portions spaced apart by a front hand-receiving portion. The back lower peripheral region has first and second back portions spaced apart by a back hand-receiving portion. The first and second front connection portions are connected to the first and second back connection portions, respectively. The front and back hand-receiving portions define a hand opening for removably receiving the hand of the user. The back hand-receiving portion includes at least one upwardly extending notch. The elastic panel is fixedly secured to the back hand-receiving portion at the notch and substantially covers the notch. The elastic panel has an exposed lower edge that is unattached to the back lower peripheral region.
This invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings described herein below, and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.